No ego, no maintenance, that's Rose

Bulls point guard impresses Coach K, Team USA teammates on European trip

September 06, 2010|By David Haugh | In the Wake of the News

Standing in his hotel along the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Derrick Rose confessed there have been times since his European basketball tour began last month when he has just stood around and watched with wide eyes.

But only when taking a shot meant pointing a camera.

"There's a bridge by our hotel that connects two continents, can you believe that?" Rose said in a phone interview Monday night after Team USA's 121-66 romp over Angola in the FIBA World Championship. "If I go out the back by the pool, I can see Asia. That's crazy."

That's the same reaction Rose had in an Athens museum, staring in awe at a bronze statue of the Greek god Zeus. And in Madrid, where the way the Spanish capital lit up its buildings at night impressed a Chicago kid who knows a majestic skyline when he sees it.

"Every city has its own special sights," said Rose, who had nine points and six assists Monday. "I'm blessed to be traveling and soaking it all in right now."

Of all the things Rose learned during a memorable month away from home, the most useful have come during visits to a place where the Bulls point guard's play typically is the thing making people marvel — the gymnasium. Averaging 8.5 points and 2.9 assists in six starts, Rose has emerged as a vocal leader at the advice of coach Mike Krzyzewski and has continued to develop a 3-point touch that will dangerously round out his offensive game.

The FIBA line is 3 feet shorter than the NBA's, but Rose's 3-for-4 showing behind the arc against Angola provided a glimpse of the new confidence from long range he vowed to bring to his third season.

"It's something I've been working on over the summer with my trainer Rob (McClanaghan), and over here I stay after practice and take lots of reps shooting NBA threes," Rose said. "Now when I'm open or need to shoot it, I will because I am confident it'll go in."

The leadership aspect takes less physical work for Rose yet always felt like more of a chore. The assertiveness Rose finally began to display near the end of last season accompanied him to Europe with a U.S. team that includes six players age 22 or younger.

Krzyzewski noted Rose's obvious maturity when he sounded like a car dealer describing Rose to European media.

"There's no maintenance," he said.

Most remarkably, there remains no ego. Every now and then Rose chuckles to himself after telling veteran teammates Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, with three NBA championship rings between them, what play to run.

"It's funny because I'll call something out and it'll work and they'll tell me, 'Good call,' " Rose said. "It's kind of weird because they think it's nothing to say that, but for a young player like myself, it's huge. It's still kind of weird to have to do that, but it's preparing me for the future."

In the immediate future, the next three games could be as significant as any for Rose. The competition, which culminates with Sunday's gold-medal game that awards the winner an automatic spot in the 2012 London Olympics, begins to stiffen Thursday with a quarterfinal game against Russia.

The last time the U.S. won the world championship was 1994, and four years ago the team limped home from Japan with a bronze medal despite a roster that included the trio now known as Miami Thrice — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

The biggest name on this roster belongs to Kevin Durant, who along with Rose represents the athleticism a team lacking a 7-footer will need to create full-court pressure and transition baskets. If you really want to put a spring in the step of a group that's already lightning quick, mention the fact that James and Kobe Bryant didn't make the trip.

"The people over here call us the 'B Team,' and there are people back in the U.S. who don't want us to win it too, so we go out there and feed off that," Rose said.

Returning home with a gold medal would only increase Rose's appetite for greatness when he exchanges his No. 6 USA jersey for his familiar No. 1.

"I was just asking Lamar (Odom) how it was, playing in a championship game, and he was saying it's totally different, so that'd be a good experience," Rose said. "Plus, it'd be my first championship on the NBA level."

The team he plans to lead back into NBA championship contention never drifts far from Rose's thoughts. He loves coach Tom Thibodeau's style and praised a Bulls front office that "got basketball players who don't care about anything but winning."

That's as close as Rose will come to suggesting, "Who needs LeBron?" The point is, Rose likes the mix of players the Bulls signed while understanding the focus on the ones they didn't. And he can't wait to get back to Chicago to show everybody how he spent his summer.

"Not being able to see my family hurts, and I'm missing them right now," Rose said. "I've been gone so long my mom learned to text."

Loosen up those thumbs, Brenda Rose. By Sunday night, your son could be an American hero.